GALLERY: 11 rescued seal pups released into Burrard Inlet

It was a noisy and joyful day in North Vancouver for 11 young seal pups.

They were released back into Buarrd Inlet at Cates Park on Friday, months after being rescued by the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre.

“This kind of marks the end of a lot of hard work, particularly by our volunteers, but also our staff. It’s exciting,” said head veterinarian Dr. Martin Haulena.

This year the pups were named after athletes, including Vancouver Whitecaps players Kekuta Manneh and David Ousted, who were both on hand to release them.

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The pups are released by the Aquarium once they are healthy and over 20 kilograms. These are the first of many animals in the aquarium’s care to be released over the next few months.

“It’s the first of a lot. I think we still have 90, 95 animals on site, so we have a lot of animals to go yet.”